The political and economic events – including Brexit, national elections and terrorist attacks - currently taking place on a domestic and global scale pose a challenging environment for organisations and individuals. Even if someone is not directly affected by issues such as having the right to continue to live and work in the UK as an EU citizen, the uncertainty and troubling impact of these wider shifts can be unsettling for many. Other major influences on the world of work like the growing impact of technology and the ageing population can also have an impact on people’s well-being. It’s not surprising that CIPD research shows it’s a combination of work- and domestic-related issues that can cause mental ill health for people.
Often, the effect of these wider shifts at an organisational and personal level are not straightforward and need a well-considered response. For example, the CIPD’s new Employee Outlook survey, in partnership with Halogen, explored employees’ views about remote access to the workplace. The results are double-edged, with half (52%) saying it ‘helps me to work flexibly’ but a third (33%) also reporting that ‘it means I can’t switch off in my personal time.’
Promoting and supporting employee well-being is at the heart of the CIPD’s purpose to champion better work and working lives for very good reason. An effective workplace well-being strategy can deliver mutual benefit to individuals, the organisation and wider communities. But it’s not just about the return on investment: looking after people’s health and well-being is also the right thing to do in the modern workplace.
The second CIPD London Well-being Conference will demonstrate how HR can take the lead in improving employee well-being and explore crucial topics such as managing work-related stress and mental health, financial well-being and resilience. It will showcase practical case studies that draw out the lessons from implementing health and well-being approaches in organisations. These will include a look at how Bailey and French, TfL and Arup developed leadership capability to support well-being. Another case study will focus on how Sky embraced workplace design to help reduce stress and anxiety and enhance happiness and productivity.
CIPD CEO Peter Cheese will be there to deliver the keynote on why and how employee well-being should be integrated across the organisation as a whole and become part of the culture. Time to Change and the Health and Safety Executive will share a platform on how their frameworks, tools and guidance can make a big difference to how employers manage work-related stress and mental health, and promote employee resilience, on a day-to-day basis.
You can sign up for the one-day conference here – it’s on Monday 19 June at Friends House, Euston Road.
